RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Serum studies of leucocyte elastase in acute and chronic lung diseases.
JF Thorax
JO Thorax
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society
SP 114
OP 117
DO 10.1136/thx.37.2.114
VO 37
IS 2
A1 R A Stockley
A1 K Ohlsson
YR 1982
UL http://thorax.bmj.com/content/37/2/114.abstract
AB Immunoreactive leucocyte elastase was measured in the serum of patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis. No evidence was found to demonstrate the release of this enzyme in the pulmonary circulation. However the average serum concentrations (573 . 0 micrograms/l; SD +/- 261 . 0) were higher (2p less than 0 . 001) in this group of patients than in age matched control subjects (355 . 2 micrograms/l; SD +/- 274 . 8). Further studies confirmed this finding but patients with other active lung diseases had similarly increased leucocyte elastase concentration in the serum. This suggests that a raised serum leucocyte elastase concentration is a feature of active lung diseases and not a feature of obstructive bronchitis alone.